The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Monday, December 11, 2006 - 5B CRASHING THE BOARDS NOTABLE QUOTABLE "Jevohn can get up with the best of them. Not with me, but with some of the others he can get up. He's got to dunk on somebody before I can put him in my category." - Senior BRENT PETWAY when asked about sopho- more teammate Jevohn Shepherd's jumping ability. PLAYER OF THE GAME Dion Harris GUARD Harris continued to shoot well from the field on Saturday. He opened the game with two consecutive 3-pointers, and didn't cool off from long range, knock- ing down four of his six attempts in the game and tallying a team-high 16 points. MAKING THE GRADE The Wolverines may be out of class during basketball games, but each week the Daily basketball writers will grade the team and its fans. OFFENSE The Wolverines continued their strong play on the offensive end. . shooting 54 percent from the field and 47 percent from down- town. Michigan also sam three Final grade players reach double figures, led by Dion Harris's 16 points. Saturday's game MICHIGAN 70 - DELAWARE STATE 43 Rebounding revival Big men dominate boards in easy win A Final grade n r Final grade D Final grade DEFENSE Michigan held the Hornets to just 6-of-26 shooting in the second half, including 1-of-10 from three point range. Delaware State scored just 17 points after halftime. Jahsha Blunt, the Hornets' leading scorer, was held in check and scored just eight points. COACHING Amaker challenged his team at halftime, setting a goal of allow- ing the Hornets to score no more than 55 points in the game. His motivational technique worked, as the Wolverines played much better defense, and the Hornets finished with just 43 on the scoreboard. CROWD A press-row writer commented dur- ing the game that what he saw was the "worst student section ever." The fans even failed to properly salute Braylon Edwards, who was sitting courtside, until the PA announcer told the crowd he was there. By MARK GIANNOTTO Daily Sports Writer With a little more than 10 minutes remaining in the first half, and Michi- gan off to a sluggish start against Delaware State, senior Dion Harris dribbled down the floor and pulled up for a medium-range jump-shot. The attempt clanked off the back of the rim, but caromed just perfectly for senior Brent Petway. And he did NOTEBOOK what he does best: slammed it home with authority. The dunk sent the Crisler Arena crowd into a frenzy and helped propel the Wolverines to a 70-43 thumping of the Hornets. Lost in the crowd's "Air Georgia" chants was the rebound that made the jam possible. Petway notched his third double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 boards. But itisn'tjust Petway who has been a menace on the glass lately. The Wolverines have outrebounded their opponents by nearly 10 rebounds per game for the season. On Saturday, Michigan more than doubled the Hor- nets' rebounding total, 35-17. "(Rebounding) has been a staple of our identity," Petway said. "We want to hold teams to one shot, and we want to get extra shots on the offensive end." Rebounding hasn't come so easily for the Wolverines in the past. Last year, just one Wolverine (then-senior Graham Brown) averaged more than seven rebounds per game. Through 11 games this season, both Petway and senior Courtney Sims are averaging more than seven boards per contest. The coaching staff has encouraged the big men to hit the glass all season. Ultimately, the coaches would like double-doubles to become common occurrences for each of the team's post players. It helps having long and lanky play- ers like 6-foot-11 Sims and 6-foot-10 freshman Ekpe Udoh. Against the Hornets, Udoh had his most impres- sive rebounding totals of the 2006 campaign, grabbing eight rebounds while playing just 21 minutes. "My arms help me a lot," Udoh said. "I can be on one side of the lane and still get the ball if it falls on the other side of lane." Throughout Saturday's contest, it was clear who was the more skilled team. But the effort on the boards indicated that the Wolverines also outworked the Hornets. "We know we have to be hungrier and hustle more than the teams we play," Petway said. "And rebounding is where you can show you are winning the hustle battle." I AM COURTNEY, HEAR ME ROAR: Just two minutes into the second half, the Wolverines picked up their first tech- nical foul of the season. Who the technical was given to was surprising. Going for a loose ball, Sims and Delaware State senior Troy Roundtree got tangled up on the baseline. Sims threw an elbow trying to wrestle the ball free and received a technical for his actions. The normally reserved senior's out- burst was a welcome surprise for the Crisler Arena crowd, who cheered loudly when Sims went to the bench following the scuffle. "It was kind of funny because they never see me show emotion," Sims said. "I just felt he was fouling me and the refs weren't calling it. SoI was try- ing to get him off me somehow and threw the elbow." Sims's teammates were pleasantly surprised to see their leading scorer getting more emotionally involved in the game. Senior guard Dion Har- ris, Sims's roommate, said he doesn't ordinarily see the forward get so riled up during a game, but that it was a welcome surprise, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Michigan coach Tommy Amaker KEY STAT 2 3 4 Delaware State's shooting per- centage in the second half of 2 3 Saturday's game at Crisler. SATURDAY'S GAME MICHIGAN 70 Senior Courtney Sims has improved his rebounding so far this season. even cracked a smile as Sims walked for his alma mater. away from the fracas. But he made SittingcourtsideatSaturday'sgame, sure to warn his big man about the Edwards offered his opinion on the consequences of getting a technical BCS and the controversy surrounding foul. which team - Michigan or Florida - "I'm not advocating getting a tech- should be facing Ohio State in the BCS nical," Amaker said. "But that's some- National Championship game. thing that is going to happen in the "It's bullshit," Edwards said. "Until course of a basketball game. ... It was the BCS gets a playoff system, the nice to see his passion, and I'm hopeful BCS will always be a joke. I just don't that we will continue to have that." agree with the whole make-up of it. I BRAYLON DISSES THE BOWL CHAMPI- think over half the population of the ONSHIPS SERIES: Although he now plays country would agree with me that it for the NFL's Cleveland Browns, for- doesn't work." ... "I believe Michigan mer Michigan wide receiver Braylon is the best team in the country with Edwards still feels the need to stick up the exception of Ohio State." Player MINO TG I FT REB A F PTS Petway 22 4-5 4-6 5-10 3 0 12 Coleman 24 3-5 0-0 0-0 1 2 8 Abram 29 2-3 1-1 0-4 3 2 6 Sims, C. 21 4-4 4-5 2-6 0 1 12 Harris 28 5-10 2-2 0-0 4 2 16 Smith 15 0-2 0-0 0-3 1 1 0 Udoh 21 3-5 0-0 1-8 0 0 6 Shepherd 17 3-9 0-0 1-1 4 1 6 Sims, D. 13 1-3 2-2 1-3 0 1 4 Baker 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 TEAM TOTALS 200 25-46 13-16 10-35 16 10 70 FG%: 54.3 FT%: 81.3 3-pointFG: 7-15,.467 (Harris4-6, Cole- man 2-4,Abram 1-2, Shepherd 0-1,Smith 0-2) Blocks: 4 (Udoh 3, Petway) Steals: 4(Harris, Petway, Smith, Udoh.). Tumovers: 15 (Harris 4, Smith 3, Abram 2, Coleman 2, C. Sims 2, Petway, D. Sims) Technical fouls: C. Sims Blue disagrees on who has it worse: bigs or littles Delaware State 43 Player MIN FG M-A FT REB A F PTS Fleetwood 11 1-4 0-0 0-1 0 4 2 Roundtree 40 0-3 2-2 2-4 2 2 2 Bright 37 9-14 0-2 1-3 0 0 21 Shine 32 2-7 2-4 0-1 2 3 6 Bluntt 36 2-14 3-3 1-3 2 3 8 Bush Mosley D'Agostino Sandidge TEAM TEAM TOTALS 27 9 2 6 200 2-4 a-1 0-1 o-o 16-48 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 7-9 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-1 1-3 5-17 1 2 0 0 9 4 2 1 0 16 4 0 0 0 43 By H. JOSE BOSCH Daily SportsEditor The Michigan men's basketball team is deeply divided over one issue. Which is tougher: defending on the interior or on the perimeter? Against Delaware State on Saturday, the Wol- verines' big men got a chance to play outside of the paint. The Hornets lacked a post game, which meant seniors Brent Petway and Courtney Sims were forced to play outside of their comfort zone on defense. But both players contributed in stifling Delaware State's offense, holding the Hornets to 33 percent shooting. Even Petway showed his prowess on the perimeter by notching a steal. "It's rough," Petway said of playing perimeter defense. "But we like to pressure (teams) as it is, and we were able to keep the big men in front for the most part." Michigan's twin towers prepared for Saturday's game by working on the perimeter with the guards in practice. Senior guard Dion Harris said the inte- rior guys played the guards well all week. "I think that gave them confidence," Harris said. "They were confident when they had to go out there and guard those guys on the perimeter." Michigan coach Tommy Amaker acknowledged that Delaware State's style of play made matters difficult for the forwards and gave them credit for their hard work in chasing players down and play- HORNETS From page 1B focused because when you get up in a game and you're at home, you might relax a little bit on defense." The Wolverines had no trouble relaxing on the offensive end in the first half. Michigan's first six shots came from 3-point land, and three different players (Harris, senior Lester Abram and junior Ron Coleman) combined to convert on allibut one of those attempts. Delaware State (2-8) then realized the Wolverines were unlikely to miss from outside, and switched to BIG TEN STANDINGS Team Big Ten Overall Michigan 0 0 10 1 Wisconsin 0 0 9 1 Ohio State 0 0 8 1 Purdue 0 0 8 1 Illinois 0 0 9 2 Michigan State 0 0 9 2 Northwestern 0 0 5 2 Penn State 0 0 6 3 Indiana 0 0 5 3 Ioma 0 0 5 5 Minnesota 0 0 4 7 ing the entire court. The Hornets' forwards went just 10-for-21 from the field (3-for-9 from 3-point range) thanks in part to Petway, Sims and freshman Ekpe Udoh. Sims said the biggest difference for him was hav- ing to worry about his own man more often out on the perimeter. The Boston native explained that instead of looking for the ball and watching for players driving to the basket, he had to be more con- cerned with playing defense on the ball and moving his feet to stay out in front of the defender. But even though the interior players got a taste of what life is like on the outside, all of them swear that post defense is tougher than perimeter defense. "It's like boxing," Sims said. "You take body shots in the post." Sims pointed out that forwards have to run the full length of the court, from post to post, while guards only have to run from 3-point line to 3-point line. Petway agreed. "We're taking a physical beating the whole night," Petway said. "They get to hit all the jump shots and be pretty out on the perimeter. We're the ones that have to be in the trenches." But if you take the issue up with Harris, he just smiles wryly. "No," Harris said in response to Petway's com- ments that interior defense is harder than defend- ing the perimeter. "I have to play 94 feet of defense every time down. We always have that argument in the locker room, and I disagree with (Petway)." a new pressure defense on Michigan's guards. That shift opened up the game. Harris pump-faked on a three from the top of the key, and found freshman Ekpe Udoh unguarded under the basket for an easy lay-up to ignite a 13-2 run that put the game out of reach. Several possessions later, after a rare Michigan (10-1) miss, Petway skied in for an offensive rebound that he finished with a thunderous dunk. He soared so high he nearly hit his head on the backboard after the slam. "That first (dunk) was - amazing," Udoh said. Said Petway: "Our guards were hot today, and they were doing a great job of finding each other. Once those (3-pointers) start going in so much, the defense won't even box out, they just look at the ball thinking THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS MICHIGAN 70, Delaware St. 43 lowA 77, Iowa State 59 KENTUCKY 59 - Indiana 54 Arkansas-Little Rock 67- MINNESOTA 66 SEToN HALL 69 - Penn State 59 Wisconsin 70 - MARQUETTE 66 ILLINoIS 71- Illinois-Chicago 66 OHio STATE 78 - Cleveland State 58 NORTHwEsTERN 77 - Western Michigan 75 (OT) PURDUE 79 - Missouri 62 MICHIGAN STATE 76 - Brigham Young 61 'HOME TEAM IN CAPS FG%: 33.3 FT%: 77.8 3-point FG: 4-15, .267 (Bright 3-6, Bluntt 1-5, Fleetwood 0-1, Mosley 0-1, Shine 0-2). Blocks: 1 (Bright). Steals: 7 (Shine 4, Bluntt 2, Roundtree). Turnovers: 13 (Blunt 4, Shine 4, Team 2, Bush ,Fleetwood, Roundtree). Technical fouls: None. Delaware St.......... 26 17 - 43 At: Crisler Arena Michigan............37 33 - 70 Attendance: 9,449 Player GP Min Pts RI A Freshman Ekpe Udoh helped shut down the Hornets' offense. So which is tougher: interior defense or perim- eter defense? After Saturday's game, Delaware State can't tell the difference. it's going to go in, and it's easier to get in there (and rebound)." It was the third straight game in which Michigan shot better than 40 percent from downtown. Harris has been the main producer in this effort, and he fin- ished with a team-high 16 points, going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. "It's always good to get off to a good start like I did today, because I can relax even more if I know my shot is falling," Harris said. "I felt like I was in a good rhythm." Petway and senior Courtney Sims each finished with 12 points for the Wolverines, and Petway added 10 rebounds. Led by the consistent output of those seniors, the Wolverines have been untouchable on their home floor, where they are a perfect 9-0 this year. They were so dominant on Saturday that just three avail- able players - junior walk-on David Merritt, soph- omore Phil DeVries and freshman Kendric Price - didn't see action. But there are just three home games left for Mich- igan before the conference season begins, and the Wolverines want to make sure that they handle their business on their home floor before Big Ten season. "We'are trying to be undefeated at home first, and we want to take care of that so in March, we won't be looking back and saying we should have gotten one," Udoh said. i i i i i Sims, C. Harris Coleman Petway Abram Udoh Smith Sims, D. Shepherd Price Baker Morris Merritt DeVries 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 9 10 4 8 7 2 1 25.2 30.7 28.9 24.9 26.8 18.7 19.5 6.8 10.8 4.0 6.0 5.3 2.0 3.0 15.1 14.5 9.5 8.1 7.9 4.6 4.0 2.8 2.6 2.3 1.4 1.0 0.0 0.0 7.1 2.6 3.7 8.0 4.1 4.6 2.5 1.4 1.8 1.5 0.0 0.3 0.0 1.0 0.4 5.2 1.4 1.8 3.1 0.7 2.5 0.3 0.8 0.3 0.5 0.1 0.5 0.0